Tomorrow is World Wetlands Day. The theme of this year is
Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People, which is meant to emphasize that
only with healthy wetlands can there be healthy life for everyone
on the planet.
China is rich in wetlands because of its diverse geology, a long
coastline, a large river network and large number of big lakes. It
boasts 70 million hectares of wetland, accounting for 10 percent of
the world wetland areas.
These wetlands in the form of marshes, lakes, coastal areas,
river estuaries, reservoirs and paddy fields provide ideal
wintering, staging and breeding sites for more than 200 species of
birds. China has more than 200 of 947 internationally important
wetlands in Asia, about 20 percent of the areas in the region.
Wetlands are important to our life. The range of products that
wetlands can produce is remarkable: food such as fish, rice,
medicinal plants, peat for fuel and gardens, and grasses and reeds
for making paper and baskets. Wetlands act as giant sponges,
soaking up rainfall and slowly releasing it over time. They are
like highly efficient sewage treatment works, absorbing chemicals,
filtering pollutants and sediments, breaking down suspended solids
and neutralizing harmful bacteria.
Wetlands are also known as carbon reservoirs. Carbon is
contained in trees and other vegetation and in litter, peats,
organic soils, and sediments which have been built up over
thousands of years. Wetlands also sequester carbon from the
atmosphere through photosynthesis.
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human
Development Report on Climate Change (2007/2008), peatland, one
unique type of wetland, sequesters five times the amount of CO2
than a rainforest.
During the past 50 years, these valuable wetlands are being lost
and converted to cropland, and large areas of peatland are degraded
as a result of overgrazing. To date, 50 percent of China coastal
marshes, 13 percent of lakes and large areas of natural marshes
have been lost to agriculture and urban development.
The loss and degradation of wetlands have major implications to
the lives of people. One of the major findings of the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment undertaken during 2001-2005 is that, while the
changes of ecosystems have contributed to the substantial net gains
in human wellbeing and economic development, these gains have been
achieved at growing costs to the degradation of the ecosystems. It
is also acknowledged that the harmful effects of the degradation
are being borne disproportionately by the poor.
To date China has established 470 wetland protected areas, 30 of
which are designated as sites of international significance. These
measures will no doubt jump start the immense task of reviving
wetlands in China.
The United Nations in China has joined with government agencies
to address the degradation of wetlands. Through the Wetland
Conservation and Sustainable Use Project and EU-China Biodiversity
Program, UNDP has assisted the government of China in achieving the
overall objective of maintaining the health of its wetlands through
the mainstreaming of them into sectoral programs, and plans at
national and local levels. The United Nations Environment Program
through a global project has supported the local governments of
Sichuan province to restore water-absorbing functions of the
Ruoergai peatlands, degraded from dredging of water for cattle
grazing.
Wetlands in China have global significance and are a common
asset of mankind. To maintain healthy wetlands in China will not
only build a healthy life for its people, but also set a good
example of harmonious coexistence between man and nature to other
countries, and developing countries in particular. The United
Nations in China will work in close partnership with the
international community, governments at all levels,
non-governmental organizations and the private sector to achieve
this common goal for the sake of present and future
generations.
The author is the United Nations Resident Coordinator/UNDP
Resident Representative in China
(China Daily by Khalid Malik February 1,
2008)